Shoe-fastening



G. A. WELD. SHOE FASTENING.

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GEORGE A. WELD, OF WINCHESTER, MASSACHUSETTS.

SHOE-FASTENING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 507,249, dated October24, 1893. Application filed February 4, 1893. Serial No. 460,967. (Nomodel.)

To aZZ whom it may concern: Be it known that I, GEORGE A. WELD, of

Winchester, county of Middlesex, State of Massachusetts, have inventedan Improvement in Shoe-Clasps, of which the following description, inconnection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, likeletters on the drawings representinglike parts.

My invention relates to a clasp or buckle of the kind commonly used uponarctics or over-shoes, to fasten together the sides or corners of thequarter of the shoe over the instep of the wearer. Clasps of this kindhave been made, composed of two members one connected with one, and theother with the other of the parts to be fastened together by the clasp,one of said members being a plate having an opening, or usuallya numberof openings, to receive a tongue or lever which is the main operativepart of the other member of the fastening. The first of these membersiscommonly called the catch plate, and the present invention relatesespecially to the construction of the other member which is providedwith the tongue or lever that engages with the catch plate. As usuallyconstructed the tongue member is pivoted upon a frame piece called thetongue plate which is itself attached to the quarter of the shoe orother part to be fastened by the buckle, and the movement of the tongueon its pivot or fulcrum in the tongue plate is controlled by a springwhich tends to hold the tongue either in open or closed position andaffords a yielding resistance to the movement of the tongue from oneposition to the other. The tongue plate usually affords a bearing orseat for the catch plate when the clasp is fastened, and the tongue isheld by its spring folded down over the tongue plate so as to securelyconfine the catch plate until the clasp is unfastened by the operatorturning the tongue on its pivot against the resistance of the spring.

In the present invention the tongue is fulcrumed upon or pivotallyconnected with a frame piece preferably composed of a piece of stoutspring wire bent to form a loop for attachment to the shoe and providedat its ends with lateral outwardly projecting fingers which enter lugsat the sides of a recess formed in the tongue piece near the basethereof and thus afford the pivotal connection between the said tongueand base piece, while the spring action is provided by lateral pressurebetween the sides of the recess in the base of the tongue piece and theportion of the base piece or attaching part that enters the said recess.3 The base portion of the tongue is widened so as to afford a bearingfor the catch plate at each side of the part that engages pivotally withthe frame piece or attaching part. Thus an extremely simple andinexpensive and durable clasp is produced the tongue member of whichcomprises only two pieces, namely, the tongue itself, and the connectingpiece upon which it is fulcrumed.

- Figure 1 is a side elevation of a clasp embodying this invention; Fig.2 a plan view thereof; Fig. 3 an under side view; Fig. at a sideelevation of the tongue member detached; Fig. 5 a longitudinal sectionthereof; Fig. 6 a transverse section on line x ,Fig. 4.; Fig. 7 an endelevation of the tongue detached Fig.8 a plan of the flat blank fromwhich the tongue is formed; Fig. 9 a plan view of the attaching part ofthe tongue member detached,and Fig. 10 an under side view showingamodification in which the frame piece or attaching part is made of sheetmetal instead of wire as shown in the other views.

The catch plate member a, Figs. 1, 2, and 3, may be of any suitable orusual construction and of itself forms no part of the present invention,the said catch plate being provided with the usual opening a toco-operate with Y the tongue b of the other member of the fastening. Thesaid tongue I) is fulcrumed or pivotall y connected at b with the framepiece or attaching portion 0 of the tongue member which is provided witha loop 0 best shown in Figs. 1, 3, and 9, for attachment to the shoe orarticle to be fastened, in the usual manner. The tongue portion 1) ismade from a flat blank of the shape shown in Fig. 8, the said tongueitself being of a width to enter the opening of the catch plate, andhaving a wide base portion 12 having a longitudinal and transverserecess b 19 thus forming two wings or projections 17' which contain thefulcrum openings 6 and are bent up nearly at right angles to theadjacent portion of the base b in line with the ends of the recess b asbest shown in Figs. 4, 5, and 6, thus bringing the fulcrum openings 12opposite and in line with one another, at the opposite sides of a recessin the base portion of the tongue piece as clearly shown in Fig 6. Thelugs b are bent to slightly divergent position as shown in Fig. 6, sothat the corners or angles between the said lugs and the adjacentportion of the base of the tongue project inward across the said recessas best shown at N, Fig. 6, thus forming a contracted throat or passagethrough which the corresponding part of the connecting piece 0 has topass when the tongue is turned from the dotted to full line position,Fig. 5. The said connecting part c is preferably made from stoutspringwire as shown in Fig. 9, bent to form the attaching loop c 'and' ashank or connecting part c terinitiating in laterally outward projectingfingers c which enter the fulcrum openings b in the lugs b of the tonguepiece the said shank portion 0 extending into the recess int'he-bas'e'of thetongue piece between said lugs. The saidattaching pieceis so shaped, as best shown in Fig. 5, that when thetongue is foldeddownto engage'with and fasten the catch plate the'shan-lr portion 0 isabovethe inwardly proje'cting corners b and said attaching piece is also soformed as to be under a slight elastic strain when interposed betweenthe lugs of the tongue piece so that the arms 0 press outwardly againstsaid lugs as shown in Fig. 6. Asa consequence of this construction whenthe tongue is turned from the dotted to the fun line" position Fig. 5 orthe' reverse, the

arms c are crowded inward somewhat as the projecting. portions bpassthem and their outward elastic pressure tends to throw the saidprojections from between them the moment that the point of nearestapproach of said pro jections passes the said arms. Thusa spring actionisproduced tending to throw the tongue toward one or the other of itsextreme positions and tending to retain the tongue in en treme positionuntil moved therefrom by the operator.

The wide portion 11 of the tongue piece near the base thereof forms aseat or support for the catch plate as will be readily understood fromFigs. 2, 6, and 7, and the shoulder b at the end of the recess in whichthe fastening piece is pivoted constitutes a stop which by itsengagement with the fastening piece limits the outward or openingmovement of the lcshould be' made of wire.

tongue as shown in dotted lines Fig. 5.

It is not essential that the attaching piece It might if required, bemade of sheet metal as indicated in Fig. 10, the construction and modeof operation being otherwise the same except that the elasticity, forwidening the throat may be atforded by the outward yielding of theportions b of the tongue at each side of the recess, in-

stead of the inward yielding of the shank of Q the connecting piece,although thelatter might git desired he made of sheet metal and still bemade inwardly yielding by slotting the same as indicated by dotted linesat 0 Fig. I0. I clain1 I 1. The tongue or lever 11 having a widened 1base portion as b recessed and provided with l upwardly turned fulcrumlugs at the sides of said recess, combined with the attaching pieceihaving a shank passing into said recess, and provided with outwardlyturned fingers enigaged with the said fulcrum-lugs, substan- 3 ti'allyas and, for the purpose described.

2. The tongueor lever Zr having a widened base portion as b recessedandprovided with upwardly turned fulcrum lugsat the sides of said recesscombined with the attaching piece having a shank passingintd saidrecess, and

provided with outwardly turned fingersen gaged with the said fulcrum-lugs, the shoulder at the end ot the recess in the tongue beingadapted to engage with said attaching piece to constitute a stop forthepivotal movement ot the tongue; substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

GEO. A. WELD.

Witnesses:

Joe. P. Ltv'ERMoR-E, M. E. HILL.

